1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a laundry treatment apparatus allowing laundry to be easily taken out.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a laundry treatment apparatus is an apparatus for treating laundry through the application of physical and/or chemical action to the laundry. A washing machine that removes dirt from laundry, a spin dryer that spin-dries laundry by rotating a tub with the laundry therein, and a drying machine that dries wet laundry through the application of cool air or hot air into a tub are, in combination, called a laundry treatment apparatus.
FIG. 7 is a view showing an exemplary washing machine of the related art.
The exemplary washing machine includes a cabinet 1, a top cover 2, a door 3, a control panel 4, and an inner tub 5.
The cabinet 1 is open upward, the inner tub 5 is rotatably disposed in the cabinet 1, and laundry is loaded into the inner tub 5. Though not shown, an outer tub for receiving washing water is disposed in the cabinet 1 and the inner tub 5 is rotated inside the outer tub. Further, as is well known in the art, the washing machine is further equipped with a water supply unit for supplying water into the outer tub or the inner tub 5, a driving unit for rotating the inner tub 5, and a draining unit for draining the outer tub.
The top cover 2 is disposed on the open top of the cabinet 1 and has a laundry entrance for loading and unloading laundry. The door 3 is connected via hinges to the top cover 2, facilitating the opening/closing of the laundry entrance.
An input unit for inputting various control instructions to control the operation of the washing machine and a control panel 4 providing a display for indicating the operational state of the washing machine are disposed on the front of the top cover 2. The control panel 4 is independent from the door 3, that is, control panel 4 remains fixed regardless of the open/close status of the door 3.
In the exemplary configuration, a user has to bend over, potentially stretch, and put his/her hands into the inner tub 5 to take out the laundry in the inner tub 5. However, considering the recent tendency of increases in the capacity of washing machines, users may have difficulty reaching the inner tub 5 with their hands, depending on their physical conditions.
In particular, in top-loading washing machines into which laundry is loaded through a laundry entrance at the top of the washing machine it is preferable to lower the front in order for the user to easily unload the laundry, because the high front interferes with a user bending over. However, when the overall height of the washing machine is decreased for only the convenience of unloading laundry, the space inside the cabinet 1 is decreased accordingly, resulting in decrease of capacity of the internal tub 5.
Therefore, what is needed is to improve convenience of loading and unloading laundry without changing the capacity and function of a washing machine.